Hometown

Borchert looking for volunteers

NEW ULM -- New Ulm Police Chief and Emergency Management Director Dave Borchert is looking for volunteers.

He plans to create a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), a group of local volunteers trained by emergency experts to provide basic life-saving and support skills during disasters when professional responders are overwhelmed or delayed.

"I'm looking for volunteers now to go through certification training. Everybody has different skill levels. We'd try to match that talent with what we need. It's a wonderful program," said Borchert. "I'm certified now and plan to be the primary instructor. It's a good way to work closely with the community. It'll include people who would help us sandbag for floods and help us with a call center we would set up if a tragic set of events happen and dispatch is overwhelmed."

The group would help families, neighbors, and workplaces stay safe in the critical hours before first responders arrive by performing light search and rescue, extinguish small fires, set up medical triage, and treat basic injuries.

Volunteers could also assist with non-emergency tasks like safety fairs, traffic control at local events, and distributing preparedness information.

Core training topics could include fire safety by learning to use fire extinguishers and turning off hazardous utilities like gas lines.

Medical operations may involve practicing triage, bandage ing, and treating injuries.

Search and rescue work may involve locating trapped or injured people and organizing teams.

Disaster psychology includes managing stress and helping victims cope after a tragic event.

Programs are usually operated by local fire departments, sheriff's offices, or emergency management agencies.

Basic training is often a free course over several weeks that combines classroom learning with hands-on experience.

High school students could join Teen CERT programs to support school safety and emergency plans.

Borchert said drones are another new law enforcement aspect he expects to use more in the future.

"I think we'll see more and more drones used, especially due to officer shortages," he said. "Drones are valuable tools first to assess situations. The technology is extremely expensive now. I think it'll be better with more suppliers."

Borchert said his officers are Emergency Medical Responders (EMRs) that work as first responders to perform CPR, use AEDs, control bleeding and treat life-threatening injuries.

"Not every agency does it, but we've done it since I came to work here," he said. "Some law enforcement officers don't maintain their EMR certification like our police and sheriff's department staff does. Everyone goes through a recertification course every two years. We contract with South Central College for it."

He said three New Ulm Police officers were recently recognized for saving a life at New Ulm's Night Out in German Park.

"They responded for a call to service. An off-duty nurse happened to be doing CPR for a person who collapsed near her," Borchert said. "Officers assisted the nurse. Police and the nurse were given life-saver awards. The patient was at the New Ulm National Night Out too."

He said squad vehicles include automatic external defibrillators (AEDs), portable devices that check heart rhythm during sudden cardiac arrest that if needed, send an electric shock to help the heart beat normally again.

Borchert said the number of police calls involving a mental health crisis has increased significantly over the past 30 years and continues to increase each year.

"Our officers respond to calls daily that involve mental health," he said.

The legalization of marijuana has changed how police operate, creating more advanced training. One of our officers, Greg Miller, did Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) training. I think we'll have more DREs available in the next few years. People will always find a way to get high. Some of the new drugs have very dangerous side effects, compounded by the method is ingestion."

Borchert said substances found in street drugs include rat poison sometimes used by drug pushers. He said most of the drugs seized by the local drug task force include fentanyl, a strong, synthetic (man-made) opioid used to treat severe pain, but it is also a major cause of dangerous drug overdoses.

"People overdose on dangerous drugs. They don't know what they're getting themselves into," said Borchert.

He said marijuana legalization has really complicated law enforcement.

"We're seeing lots of illegal marijuana use because it's cheaper," said Borchert. "Drug users have told me they buy kits online and test for fentanyl. I can't imagine people do it, but they do. They're addicted. Users are getting more people addicted in large numbers. It's evil."